Worldwide protests have stayed
the hand of Bush and his CPA massacre-makers—at least partially and
for the time being. As of April 30, on the eve of May Day, U.S. Marines
were reported pulling back from positions in parts of Fallujah,
the mostly Sunni Muslim city of 300,000 (about 30 miles west of Baghdad),
which has been in open revolt against the U.S. occupation virtually
from the beginning.

And
since early April, U.S. forces have held off from launching an all-out
assault on the sacred Shi’ah Muslim city of Najaf, where radical Shi’ah
opponents of the U.S. occupation, headed by Muqtada Sadr, continue to
defy them.

The
New York Times carried a report from Fallujah on April 30 that said,
in part: “…amid condemnation
in Europe and elsewhere for…heavy-handed tactics in Fallujah, American
officials have shown much reluctance to return to all-out fighting here…despite
strong talk from President Bush.”

But
protests must continue until Washington’s killing machine is withdrawn
from Iraq completely.

As the Americans
retreat, they leave behind crowds of rejoicing Fallujah residents

Despite
this partial victory, the U.S. could, and probably will, resume massive
bombardment of Fallujah, using the slightest incident as an excuse.
And the U.S. authorities could send their troops back into the city
if their Iraqi proxies (military men who served under dictator Saddam
Hussein) come under attack or prove “unreliable.”

This makes
it more urgent than ever that there be mass demonstrations to “Bring the Troops
Home Now!” And the “Out Now!” antiwar movement must press its demands independently,
not get roped in to supporting capitalist politicians.

The behavior
of Democrat John Kerry this April is the most glaring proof of that.

No Help from Kerry

Ongoing struggle
by the people of Iraq (in a poll taken by Western news organizations, 75 percent
in Baghdad declared opposition to the occupation), along with worldwide protests,
have brought at least partial results. But this has happened with no help
from Bush’s “loyal opposition.” The Democrat candidate, John F. Kerry, who
in 1971 opposed the Vietnam war, is now pro-war. He calls for more U.S.
troops to Iraq, and supports a “bipartisan foreign policy.” The Democrat standard-bearer
advocates a foreign policy that hardly differs from Bush’s, but still Kerry
wants—sort of, but maybe not really—to replace Bush as president.

Credit for
forcing Washington to pull back, if only partially, goes to the masses of
Iraq, the masses of Spain, and the millions all over the world who protested
the first year of war at the end of March—especially including U.S. military
families, veterans, and some active-duty U.S. servicemen and women. Special
credit also goes to courageous journalists from al-Jazirah—and from all over
the world, including “Democracy Now!” in the United States—who have exposed
the cruelty and brutality of the U.S. imperial occupiers of Iraq parading
under the name Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).

Torture Exposed

The latest
achievement of courageous journalists was to somehow bring forth photos of U.S. torture of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib, a former prison of dictator
Saddam Hussein. Thus Bush “liberates” Iraq from the awful dictator, only to
mimic his dictatorial behavior, using his same torture chambers!

This video
evidence even broke through the barriers of the controlled media in the U.S.
and was shown on the CBS national television network. A U.S. brigadier general
has been removed from command of the Abu Ghraib prison, and a number of U.S.
military personnel are being charged with criminal offenses. (One said no
one ever told him about the Geneva Convention, to which the U.S. government
is a signatory and which prohibits such barbarism.)

The truth
is that these torturers were only following orders, though their superiors
will now deny it. You can be sure that “the word” authorizing severe and brutal
action was passed down from the highest levels—from Bush and the bipartisan
imperial-corporate Republican-Democrat authorities at the top of the pyramid.
They want to intimidate the Iraqi people so that the wished-for U.S. corporate
hold on Iraqi oil won’t be challenged.

And Bush claims
this is a war against the enemies of civilization.

Actually,
Bush is right, although he doesn’t realize what he’s saying. The Iraqi people
and the worldwide opponents of this war and occupation, in fighting against
Bush and Company, are indeed fighting the enemies of civilization.

The Potential of Mass Mobilization

The U.S. authorities
admitted on April 30, on the eve of May Day, as they backed away from continuing
their massacre in Fallujah, that they feared mass uprisings.

Two New York Times reporters, writing from Fallujah on April 30, stated:
“Officials here worried that any new battles, especially ones in which Iraqi
civilians died, could stir mass uprisings”
(emphasis added).

They clearly
state that they are aware that mass uprisings could have started if
they had gone in and leveled the whole city of 300,000, as they had been planning
to do. (Destroying the city in order to save it.) As it is, they have used
500-pound bombs to destroy homes and mosques, have strafed neighborhoods with
their deadly Specter, or Spook, gunships (AC-130s), and have used artillery
and sniper fire to kill Fallujan men, women, children, and old people indiscriminately.
They have particularly targeted Iraqi ambulance drivers who were desperately
trying to save the lives of wounded compatriots. Bush’s killing machine has
probably caused death or disfigurement to thousands of Iraqis in Fallujah
since Bush ordered the siege in early April in revenge for four U.S. mercenaries
killed in Fallujah.